


Web of Lies

by alphadracolite



Category: Dragon Age
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-11-27
Updated: 2012-11-27
Packaged: 2017-11-19 16:45:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 10
Words: 10,255
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/575430
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/alphadracolite/pseuds/alphadracolite
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The Hawke siblings are offered an alternate way into the city, and they take the mysterious stranger up on his offer, pulling themselves into a dangerous web that not all will make it out of.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

"Bethany! Behind you!" Bethany turned sharply, flinging a large fireball into the midst of the Darkspawn following us. Not a two days' journey out from our now-destroyed hometown, and the blight was following us yet this far. There seemed to be no end to the creatures, continuously seeming to appear behind rocks or trees and charging us, as if they ever had a chance to defeat us. Against this force, my sister, my brother and I were, quite fortunately, formidable opponents. Our mother... regrettably, had been taken down by an ogre a distance back. A DRAGON, Maker bless it, had come to our rescue, but a moment too late. She died with her blade buried deep in the ogre's fist, still clamped shut around her. Giving us no time to grieve, the darkspawn had suddenly swarmed onto the small path. The dragon, which was clearly no ordinary beast, held them off long enough for us to escape. I would not call either of my siblings a coward, and I strongly doubt myself to be one... but there is such thing as blind stupidity, and standing to fight in order to retrieve her body would have fallen into such a category. There would be time for tears later. Once we got free of the spread of darkness.

It took four tries to finally find a port with boats yet available to leave on. Whole towns had packed up and left, swarming the ships, which had taken as many paying passengers as they could before departing these Maker-forsaken shores for good. This Blight needs to end soon, or there may be no world left to live in.

The ship was crowded, as expected. Bethany made the best of it, trying to lift everyone's spirits. It was impressive. I admired that about her. I had not the will to attempt such an endeavor, and Carver... was Carver. He complained the whole distance. He was quite honestly, a nuisance, and I could not stand to be around him for long, that trip. Neither could most of the crew, and he often found himself grumbling in solitude, which did not help his disposition at all. Luckily, I found myself a suitable pastime. Bethany did not approve of her, but Isabela was more than distracting enough from the rock of the waves. And she distracted me quite often.

After weeks at sea, we had lost dozens of passengers and quite a few of the crew to a sickness that swept the boat. Luckily, none my party had it, and so we went ashore as quickly as possible, so to avoid catching it. We could not afford such.

Kirkwall was a city of possibilities and opportunities. Or, so Mother had said. She had passed on the tales told her by her brother; our Uncle Gamlen. Looking at the outer gates... I was honestly not very hopeful.

"Dingy." Isabela commented, her mouth twisted in distaste.

"And dirty," Carver added. Bethany smacked his arm and glared. I could not help but agree with them. The city did look impressively large and old... but the outer walls were littered with people. Many, many people. In fact, I recognized a few from our village. So did Carver.

"Should we go talk to them?" he asked. He clearly was not very keen on the idea, and neither was I. They not only looked like they'd been there a while, they also looked... diseased. Horribly. I looked around. They were not the only, either. How long had these people been here?

Isabela was already in front of the gate guards, and talking heatedly. I motioned for Bethany and Carver to follow me and headed for the main gates.

"I'm sorry, but you cannot enter." The guard was holding his calm remarkably well. Isabela was clearly nearing exasperation. The guard's ears were tinged in red, which told me she'd already tried seduction, and bribing was always her next option. I'd watched her gambling with the ship's crew quite a few times. Which meant she was really unable to get us in.

"We DO have family here, though" I informed the guard. He raised an eyebrow, briefly glancing at Isabela before returning his gaze to me. "Name?"

"Amell. Gamlen Amell." Carver supplied. The guard smirked.

"He's quite rich. I'm sure he could pay our way in if you contact him" Bethany added. The guard's inexplicable amusement quickly turned to confusion. "Who?" he asked. "Gamlen Amell," I said, "Our Uncle"

The guard's fact contorted strangely. "The DRUNK?"

We were taken aback. Bethany started to try to explain further, but I stopped her. "A lot might have changed since Mother knew him." Isabela nodded, "It WAS nearly 30 years."

Bethany turned to me angrily and hissed, "SHE knows?! Brother, we don't even KNOW her!"

"I did not know it was meant to be a secret." I responded, admittedly a little sharper than intended. She shut her mouth angrily. She clearly did not appreciate me with Isabela, but I could do nothing about her disposition, and so I didn't try.

We turned back to the guard, who was eyeing us with a look that suggested he was going to call backup if anything happened. "I'm sorry, but unless there's another Gamlen Amell in Kirkwall, you're not going to get in. The only I know of is a mindless drunk who doesn't even have a place to his name anymore. We'd have thrown him out... but he's one of The Hanged Man's best customers. Not sure where he gets his drinking money from, but..." he shrugged, "'tis not my place to ask."

Bethany's mouth opened and closed, and she stormed away in a huff. "Thank you" Carver said to the guard curtly as we quickly started to follow her. Se didn't stop walking for a while. Apparently, it was to find a spot yet uninhabited by the vagabonds locked outside. Vagabonds... that I suppose we were too, now. Bethany, usually cool-headed and calm was quite angry. I did not know whether about Isabela or our uncle, or something else altogether, but we three silently voted to leave her alone to cool down and play some games. It worked. A few hours later, as the sky began to darken, she came back over with something... very foul-smelling.

"I found something for us to eat" She placed down her package and all three of us recoiled. She winced. "I'm sorry, it's really the best I could find." She turned to me and handed me our moneybag. "It was also QUITE expensive."

"Expensive?" Carver said in shock "That?!" Bethany shrugged and took one of the burnt lumps in the folded cloth. She bit into gingerly. It crunched loudly. Carver and I watched in sight disgust as she chewed and swallowed, wincing at every crunch. Isabela selected one, and began inspecting it.

"It's... not THAT bad." Bethany offered, well aware of our hesitation. Isabela took a good sniff of hers and tossed it over her shoulder in disgust. Bethany gave her a sour but sympathetic look and placed hers down gingerly. We re-tied the cloth and set it aside, then settled down with our makeshift bedrolls. The 'food' left a pungent aroma in the air. I decided I might break into it tomorrow.

If I got desperate.


	2. Chapter 2

"Phew. Stinks over here."

We bolted awake. There was a stranger standing in the center of our bedplaces, covered in black. If not for Isabela's excellent night vision, I doubt we'd have spotted him at all, even though he was quite close. Nevertheless, time had aided us with speed, and within seconds, we had three blades at his throat a lantern illuminating the cloth covering his face.

"Relax!" he intoned hastily, "If I'd come to kill you, I'd have done it already." Isabela instantly removed her blade.

"Kellathoran?"

"Maker, by only my voice? You're good, Isabela." I slowly removed tension from my dirk, and sheathed it completely when Isabela shot Carver and I a look.

"Ah. Much better" he said, stretching. "My apologies for surprising you so badly. It's, uh... not my custom to wake people up" He pulled his hood off and tugged the fabric covering his face back. He was wearing... some sort of thing over his eyes, but that was soon rested atop his head, secured in place by a strap connected behind his head.

"As pointed out, my name is Kellathoran. Kellathoran Chelize Del'Amar, but please, call me Kell."

I nodded cautiously. Clearly a friend of Isabela's, but... something seemed off about him. "Greetings."

Isabela glared at me. "What? No offering your name?" She scoffed. "And I thought I was the rude one here" She turned back to Kell. "Forgive him. I haven't had him properly trained yet. This is-"

Kell held up his hands. "Ah, ah, ah... no." Bethany gave him a quizzical look, so he explained. "I, uh... I'm a... mercenary. Of sorts. I'd rather not learn the names of people I can attach a face to." My hand returned to my blade, and Carver seemed no happier by his statement. There was an awkward moment where I was half-tempted to put back my blade. He shrugged. "Hey, you gotta make a living somehow."

Isabela was looking at him wryly. "Cute. But you didn't wake me up in the middle of the night for a reunion." She looked him up and down for a moment before adding, "That's not your style."

He shook his head. "No, I didn't. But I knew you were here, and you clearly brought friends. Friends who could... er... get me out of bit a predicament, perhaps?" He looked at us hopefully.

Bethany's demeanor instantly darkened. "You're talking about preparing -- preparing just in case you're going to KILL us, and you're asking for help?!" She took a breath as logic clearly overtook her outburst. Dealing with this man would be dangerous, but perhaps there could be a payoff for us. "There'd better be coin involved."

I nodded. His words had unsettled me more than I was willing to admit. I had a tendency to gather peoples' ill will, and did not wish a mark on my back so soon. "LOTS of coin."

He laughed. "I can do better than COIN." Isabela raised an eyebrow at him and he scoffed. "Maker, woman, you doubt me too much." He gestured at the towering wall we'd been camped against. "I can get you in."

Bethany considered this a moment. She glanced at me, and I gave a barely perceptible nod. While it was true that we could survive a while yet out here, it couldn't be for long. And the conditions we'd be living in would be... less than opportune. Carver shrugged. "We can't stay out here forever." She looked back to Kell. "We accept."

He clapped once and rubbed his hands together. "Fantastic! Well, best get packed up. We'll be moving immediately." He pulled the glassed contraption back over his eyes, pulled the scarf over his nose, and dropped his hood. Again, completely shadowed.

"Now?" I asked, perhaps a bit louder than intended.

Some poor soul trapped outside the walls with us suddenly snored loudly, reminding us that there were others around. Bethany continued for me, her voice a whisper. "But it's the middle of the night!"

Kell backed up to the wall. "Best time to sneak in. Cover of darkness, cloak of shadow, yes? C'mon! Let's go!"

We hurriedly bundled the few belongings we had with us into the blanket and ran over to the wall. Kell had two knife-like things in his hands and was plunging them into the wall, each plunge higher than the other, literally climbing it, slowly making his way to the top. Within a matter of minutes, a rope dropped. Neither Bethany, Carver nor I were quite sure what to do. Isebela made a disapproving noise, grabbed hold of the rope, and tugged on it. He started pulling it up as she climbed. A moment later, it dropped again. I gestured for Bethany to go next, but she was busy re-tying the blanket. So, I stepped forward, gripped the rope hard, and tugged.

The force with which I was pulled off the ground was impressive. It took me a moment to adjust, but soon was climbing the rope, using the wall for support. I got to the top, and Isabela pulled me onto the wall. Kell dropped the rope again. "Maker, you're heavy. Perhaps I should've mandated an armor removal."

"JUST armor?" Isabela teased. He chuckled, "Not just, if I can help it." I grimaced. It was clear why they got along so well.

Bethany grabbed the rope next, and I grabbed the rope behind him. We pulled her up far faster than I had gone, alternating who was pulled and who was reaching for another grip of rope.

When Carver was up, Kell dragged the rope the rest of the way up, dropped it on the wall, and left it there, suddenly making for a tower built into the wall. He turned around briefly when he realized he was alone, gestured for us to follow, and hissed "Number 6". Isabela nodded, so I assumed it was a message meant for her, and started collecting the rope up.

We were running along the top of the wall at a good pace, and the tower was growing ever-larger. Suddenly, Kell pitched himself directly off the wall, straight into the city. I immediately slowed down in horror, but watched as he landed on a roof and slid down the side, grabbing the edge just as he fell off, and vaulting through a window below into a well-lit room. A moment later, he appeared at the sill. "Come on!"

I eyed the gap dubiously. I considered backing up and running, but didn't know if I could move around Bethany and Carver. Surprisingly, Bethany slipped past me, and simply jumped. She did nearly the exact as he did, slipping inside the house easily. She made it look easy enough. My confidence bolstered, I tried it.

The jump was just as expected, but I hit the roof far harder than expected. I saw stars, and by the time they cleared, my foot was already off the roof. I did a quick twist, grabbing the edge just in time. I hit the floor inside incredibly hard, too. Carver seemed shaken by my almost-miss, but shook his head a bit, and took the jump almost immediately.

The landing was no different for him. Only, he didn't twist in time, and went off the edge of the roof without grabbing it. For a split second, I nearly had a heart attack. I knew how far below us the ground was. Then I heard Kell grunt, and realized he was at the window. I hadn't seen him move, but he had caught Carver, thank the Maker. A moment later, Carver was inside, too. He was breathing hard, and I did not blame him. Kell took a mere moment to assess that he was physically fine, then ran straight for the stairs down. "Let's go!"

"Wait!" Bethany halted him. "What about Isabela?" He shook his head. "Isabela has her own paths around the city. She knows where to meet us. But we need to get moving. No doubt, a guard heard one of us as we made that jump. Your armor is none too quiet. We need to be out of here as soon as possible." And with that, he was out of the room.

I looked at Carver, and despite still being a little breathless, he swallowed, nodded, and charged after Kell. Still dubious of our situation, I shared a worried glance with Bethany, and took off after them.


	3. Chapter 3

Kell's hideout was... lackluster, to say the least. Actually, if I am to be honest, it wasn't much better than the place I'd grown up. It was cleaner, at least.

"Make yourselves at home!" he said cheerfully, tugging off his hood. "I haven't got much, but, you understand." He shrugged, "It's only a hideout, after all"

Bethany cautiously approached what appeared to be beds, hastily put together. "There's only two" she announced. Kell grimaced. "Erm... yes. Well."

"Some of you will have to sleep elsewhere." He started tugging off his gloves while he continued. "I figured the ladies would like to have one place. This, being the best, would be first choice, yes?" Bethany frowned. She was clearly not ecstatic to be sharing quarters with the pirate, but she said nothing. "You two," Kell continued, pointing at Carver and I, "will be sleeping elsewhere. Close by!" He hastily added as Carver opened his mouth to object, "Close by, I assure you, but a place with its own beds. Better than the floor, no?"

I nodded. I still did not know what to think of this strange man, but he seemed to be more than welcoming. This... put me off, to be honest. I wasn't sure why. Perhaps it was his friendship with Isabela? Perhaps I still did not trust him. Not that he had specifically given us a reason.

"Does the other hideout have two beds, as well?" Carver asked. Kell looked at him plainly. "Yes. Why would one hideout have more than another? After all, they're all supposed to mimic typical criminal hideouts."

"So you admit to being a criminal?" Bethany asked. She was clearly not happy. I took a step back. I did not fear for myself, but the girl DID have magical powers. Kell did not seem to notice, as he removed the scarf around his head, revealing short black hair.

"I did not claim to be on the side of the law, to be sure..." He said. Bethany's hand curled into a fist and she looked at me, clearly begging for... either an excuse to hit him or a reason to leave, I couldn't tell which.

"...but then, in this city, only the corrupt are protected by the law" he finished, turning to see Bethany's fist enveloped in blue flame. He raised an eyebrow. "Am I really that untrustworthy?" He tucked the gloves into his belt. "I'm not even going to be sleeping here. Calm yourself." Isabela took this moment to walk in. She was taken aback by the tension in the air, but that did not stop her from speaking. As expected.

"What have I walked in on?" she asked aloud. Kell dropped his eye-coverings around his neck and greeted her. She turned her head slightly towards him, keeping Bethany in the corner of her vision. "Hello, handsome." A wave of jealousy rushed through me, but I quelled it quickly. They clearly had more history than I had had with her. "So," she asked, "What's the plan?"

"You and the mage are to share this hideout" Kell said, "The men will be heading to Number 4"

She pursed her lips. "And you?"

He shook his head and tied the scarf around his waist. "I will be heading with them."

Isabela stuck out her lower lip. "Or... one of her brothers could spend the night here, and you and I could... catch up" She said. I nearly said something, but Kell spoke first.

"No, Bela." His voice was steel. The sudden change was... disturbing, to say the least. She didn't so much recoil as deflate.

"Aw... still holding a grudge, I see." She sighed dramatically. "There was no harm done, dear." She turned on her heel and walked over to Bethany. "Well, I suppose I could spend the night with this charming lady" Bethany glared at her, but she didn't notice.

"You two." Kell said to me and Carver. "I hope you're wearing something under your armor."

Isabela muttered "I hope you're not", but I pretended not to notice. Carver was more inquisitive than I. "And why is that?"

Kell picked a small pack off a small table in the corner that I hadn't noticed until then. "Because your nighttime stop is up."

"Up?" he asked. Kell looked at him blankly. "Yes. Up. As in, to the roofs, the sky, the stars. Up." The corner of Carver's mouth twitched. He did not like parting with his armor. He hand dropped to his sword and rested there. Not threateningly... just resting. Kell rolled his eyes.

"Maker, you're infuriating. I will arm you both, fear not. As soon as you're not wearing more than you weigh." It was a fair suggestion, so I started unbuckling my armor. Bethany voluntarily moved away from Isabela to help Carver. His armor was bulkier than mine and, as we'd already learned, harder to remove. Soon, I was down to a leather tunic and breeches, barefoot and feeling less clothed than I'd have liked. Kell tossed me a dagger connected to a few lines.

"That straps around your waist and up to your shoulder. The dagger rests on your stomach, like so." He gestured to the one he was wearing, quite similar. He tossed a similar one to Carver, who was now out of his armor. I took at a look at the line. How, precisely, was this to work?

By the time I'd looked back up, Carver was already wearing his, just as tight and clean as Kell's. Shamed, I attempted to wrap it around my torso, from waist to shoulder. The dagger fell out of the sheath and clattered to the floor. Kell dropped his face into a hand, and Isabela clicked her tongue. I was far more accustomed to swords and bows.

Carver stepped over and batted my hands away. "No, not like that. Like THIS." A moment later, it was tied snug.

Kell clapped twice. "Good, let's get moving!" He leapt out of a window behind what I'd assumed was simply a tapestry on the wall. Carver made to follow, but Bethany stopped him to hug him. She did the same to me, whispering "I'll see you in the morning".

Four paces later, I was off and into the night.


	4. Chapter 4

The room we slept in was dry and warm. It merely daybreak when I awoke. Kell had just climbed into the rooftop structure carrying a large bag. "Breakfast!" he announced cheerfully. "I haven't awoken the girls yet, so if you want to get up, get your weapons, and get moving, we can eat below."

I sat up. An awful itch and a stomachache reminded me that I'd forgotten to remove the dagger. The coarse line tethering the dagger around me had bitten into my skin quite badly overnight. Kell saw the red lines in my skin and sucked in his breath. Shaking his head he clipped a shout out, startling Carver awake. He tumbled off the bed and hit the ground hard. The dagger slid out from underneath his pillow and hit the floor by his head. He got up rubbing his neck. "Ow..."

I grinned and grabbed my shirt. "Welcome to the realm of the alive, brother." He glared as I pulled the shirt over my head and slid it under the strap over my shoulder. Kell leaned against a support beam as Carver got himself moving and I tucked in my shirt. Carver always slept with his on, as he had since he was a child. The dagger was again tied in place in blinding speed. Kell nodded approvingly. "You have a skill for that. I could teach you to use that, if you want."

Carver seemed unimpressed, shrugging slightly. It surprised me for a moment, but then I remembered that Carver had always been more of a man for swords and axes. Daggers and stealth, which Kell seemed to excel in, were not his forte.

We dropped down the side of the building, one windowsill or support beam or drying line at a time. I hit the ground first, slightly harder than I'd meant, but I tucked into a roll to avoid damaging my knees. I leapt into in the hideout and pulled up short.

One of the beds was unoccupied. Both parties were present. And... all clothes were on the floor. Carver merely stepped through the doorway, caught up on the situation far quicker than I, and yelped, stepping back out. Kell walked in with a bemused look on his face. His expression quickly changed to annoyance.

"AWAKE!" He barked, clapping his hands twice, quite loudly. Both started awake, and the sheet dropped too far. I turned around as Bethany yelled at the two of us, bright red. I tried to control the burning on my cheeks and in my ears as I quelled the chuckle that so desperately wanted to escape my lungs. Bethany slapped the back of my head a moment later. "You can turn around now. Ass."

Kell outright laughed. My sister was not one to hold her tongue, but I suppose he was not accustomed to hearing such speech from a woman who appeared as much of a lady. Isabela was tying the knot in her headpiece when I turned around. "All right, loves. I'm off." She slipped one last bracelet on and dodged out.

"Well, then. What did you DO?" Carver asked as he came back in. "She seemed in quite a hurry. He saw Bethany slipping the rest of her clothes on and turned red again. "BETHANY?!"

"What?" She demanded. "I was lonely and cold!" She grabbed her staff with a huff and headed for the door. "Where are we going?"

"Uh..." Kell dropped the bag he was carrying to the floor. "I don't know about you, but I'm having breakfast before we go anywhere." He opened the bag to reveal actual food. There was a loaf of bread, some kind of fruit, several biscuits, and various other things. My stomach instantly reminded me that I hadn't had real food in a long time. We attacked the food like there was no tomorrow. Kell didn't get much, but it didn't seem to bother him. In fact, he chuckled most of the way through the meal, probably at the strange sight of the three of us eating. We were ravenous.

 

When we had finished, Carver volunteered to clean up. Bethany was the first to broach the subject none of us had been enthusiastic to mention.

"So," she said, "you mentioned something about needing our help?"

Kell cleared his throat. "Yes. I most definitely do need your help." Carver came back over to sit down, and Kell began his explanation.

"I've been contracted to complete an assassination. It's an... important individual who's been stepping on the wrong toes and making some very poor decisions."

"Such as...?" Bethany said, skeptical tones coloring her voice cold. Kell raised his head to look at her.

"Such as pulling the strings to convince people that some good things are wrong." He gestured towards the city walls. "You remember the hundreds and hundreds of people you saw out there? There are more than you remember. This one man has been whispering in just the right ears, and THAT'S why they're trapped out there, without food, without clean water, without medical supplies or a healer, or any last shred of hope." He took a deep breath and continued. "This man is also the one behind the decision to kill those in jail cells and announce it to be natural deaths. Many of those killed are completely without guilt, but their blood is spilt, same as those with blood already on their hands. He is also the man behind the decision still pending to cut off the Elven Alienage. That place will BURN if his proposition goes through."

Carver frowned. "And... you have proof of this."

Kell's demeanor immediately darkened. "Honestly, not much more than whispers and rumors." He scrubbed a hand through his hair. "But that's part of why I need help. This man's house is guarded by all sorts of magic. I can't even get past the main doors."

"So you've taken people with you?" I asked. Something about this sounded suspicious.

"No," he said. "I've attempted to enlist the help of a Thieves Guild, located down by the docks, but... this man's reputation is strong. They refuse without proof, the cowards." The acid in his voice has nearly tangible.

Bethany thought for a moment before nodding. "If all you say is true, I will help you try to find proof." Her sudden change surprised me, but I did not trust her and Kell alone in a magical villian's lair. Assuming he was even a villain at all. "WE will help you find proof" I amended.

Carver stood up. "Good. Since the three of you are so capable, you have fun with that." He grabbed his sword. "I'll try to go find an ACTUAL job while you're at that. You know, for actual coin." Before any of us could say something, he'd already gone.

Bethany sighed. "Lovely. Exactly what we needed."


	5. Chapter 5

Kell suggested we spend the day learning our way around the city and making connections. He cautioned us to be careful who we talk to, and what we say, but did not volunteer to stay with us. Nor did we request his presence. Bethany and I were capable of dealing with people, even if in an unfamiliar environment. It was Carver I was worried about. He wasn't very good with people to begin with, and his behavior - suddenly leaving without any information given... it wasn't a good sign.

Bethany decided to explore the market district. I wanted to find things out about the underground of the town, so I took four silvers and made for the Hanged Man.

As expected, the pub was dark, loud, smoky, and filled with belligerent individuals all too willing to talk. Two mugs of piss-poor alcohol was enough to loosen their jaws and start them sharing.

Kirkwall, apparently, used to be much better. Back before somebody decided to put a mage tower here. That was a long time ago, but a few individuals remembered the past well enough to be able to recount how things went downhill. Tension had been growing between the templars, who feared the mages and wanted them controlled and under constant scrutiny; and the mages, who were sick of being pushed into and lock up inside a building like criminals for a talent they naturally possessed. The drunkards' opinions varied greatly on which side was correct, but they generally agreed - this tension was bad.

On top of that, a large tribe of Qunari had fallen upon hard times, and were being "given shelter" in Lowtown, near the docks, while their ships were rebuilt. They'd been given a small quarter of the town, and had moved in and even set guards out. I'd passed the place a few times while wandering around. The large creatures did not fail to unnerve me. I was clearly not alone, as a great many of the pub's patrons were quite fearful of them.

And then there was the political unrest as the Viscount made some poorly-informed decisions. According to the men, the city's leader had fallen out of touch with the people a good many years ago, as he started to age. Since then, he was relied on the counseling of many political confidants, many of which are just as ill-informed as he. The city was falling apart at the seams. Those in command were doing nothing, the general populace were just complaining, and those like Kell were there to step in and take advantage of the many, many poor and pathetic.

As I mulled this over by the fireplace, I was approached by a dwarf. I'd drunken more than I should've and even the poor stuff here was somehow quite potent. I couldn't make out facial... well, facial anything. But he wasn't tall enough to be a human.

"You want to learn about Kirkwall, huh?" he asked. I nodded. Attempted to nod. I don't know. I tried, but I don't think I did a very good job. The dwarf laughed. "Can you stand, stranger?" I set the mug down and tried.

Shit. I hadn't moved in a while. Most of the people I'd talked to had come over to the fire and we'd started chatting. My legs were numb, made worse by the drink. I managed to stagger to my feet. I fell once, but found myself standing. My head was swimming by this point. Well... drowning, rather. Swimming would be far more delicate. Someone supported me as I tried to take a step away from the fire. I thought for a moment that it was the dwarf, but I couldn't have been. He wasn't that tall. I thought, anyways. Perhaps he was?

Oh, the blur. There was heat, then cold, and loud noises, then sudden heat again, and different noises. That happened for a while. I kept almost falling asleep. Even half-falling to the ground, I was as comfortable as I could possibly be. I realized I'd stopped walking, and tried to help the man dragging me, but that ended in failure a couple of times. Quite badly. So I just gave up. The sound disappeared, then reappeared, but different. And other noises. And bumping into things. And falling.

And water. Ice-cold water.

I splashed frantically, shocked awake and a little more alert. I was in water. Cold water. Submerged in water. There was shore nearby. I floundered my way to it and pulled myself up, coughing horribly. Then I collapsed on the bricks. The numbness was still there, but there was a sudden and horrible fresh alertness, as well. I lay there gasping for a moment before the dwarf leaned over me. "Awake, now?"

I nodded. Actually nodded this time, if a bit clumsily, and sat up. We were at the docks. I was laying on a set of stairs that led down and into the water. I didn't know what they were for, and did not feel like attempting to figure it out. The dwarf stuck out a gloved hand. "The name's Varric."

I nodded and took it. "Hawke. Greetings." Varric's grip tightened, and he helped pull me to my feet. The world swum anew, but it took far less time to get my balance. There was a sudden and bad chill, but I tried to ignore it. Varric started walking back to the market district. "Follow me. I can tell you all you need to know about the city"

The stairs were troublesome. They did not like me, but I managed my way up on my own. I only bumped into a few people in the market, and only stopped to lean on a wall once. It was rather reminiscent of the first time I'd gotten completely drunk, actually. Minus the blond dwarf with the... impressively large crossbow on his back.

I found myself back inside the Hanged Man. This time, though, the dwarf lead me past the fireplace in the back, up the stairs, and onto the second floor. Apparently, he had some kind of quarters in the pub. I was impressed. He led me over to a table, and sat down comfortably.

"Sit down," he suggested, "And tell me what you need to know."


	6. Chapter 6

Kell's story matched up. Varric not only confirmed everything he'd said, but informed me that Kellathoran was trustworthy, if a bit shady sometimes. I should have had more precautions about the dwarf, but something about him just emanated "good man", so I let it be. Varric told me to let him know if we got proof. If so, he would help us in our assassination.

"Bianca would be happy to roll a few heads if the rumors are indeed true" he said, hefting the weapon. He had a rather interesting relationship with the thing, but I decided not to delve into it.

I found Bethany in the market outside. She'd made friends with an herbalist and a poison specialist we'd apparently helped out years and years ago. She'd gotten a good discount from both of them, which was fantastic, as her healing magic only seemed to work when it wanted to, and my miniature knives' blades needed another coat of poison.

Apparently, I'd spent nearly all day drunk. It was nearly sundown. Bethany had run into Kell in Darktown, and he'd given us a new location to stay at tonight. She'd been spending the last few hours trying to find Carver, to no avail. We wandered the streets together to find him, but had no luck. Eventually, I suggested we make our way to bed. Carver was old enough to look after himself. He'd probably find a place to stay. Bethany was worried. Truth be told, so was I.

Kell wasn't. Apparently, he'd heard the Carver was hanging around Hightown earlier today, and that he'd been talking to some rather influential people. He didn't share any details, but it eased my mind a little.

"Before we turn in, we should try to find the information" Kell said. "I've got a sketch of the layout of the building." He pulled a folded paper out of his satchel and spread it out on the floor. "We're entering here, going up these back stairs, and into his main office, which is here." Our path was drawn out in red ink on the page. It looked simple enough. "He has traps up, I will warn you now, but he's out for the night, so we should be able to get in and escape before he gets there."

"Why?" Bethany asked. Kell looked at her in disbelief, so she quickly amended. "No, I mean, why is it so imperative that we leave before he arrives. I mean," she shrugged, "I've taken worse than a man, even if he's a mage".

Kell shook his head. "But he's not just a MAGE. He's a Tevinter mage, and a strong one at that. He's got a spell about him that... it does something to the mind, makes it weak. People are susceptible to suggestions around him. It's how he's become so powerful, and why nobody suspects him."

"All right." I said. "So, when do we get started?"

"Now." Kell said, standing up and slipping out of the hideout. He'd left the map, so I figured he knew his way rather well. Beth and I just followed.

The streets were eerily deserted. All day, there had not been a moment of silence, no matter where we were. Now, even my foot tapping the cobblestone seemed painfully loud. We fell upon two groups of thieves who thought we'd be easy targets. None of us had any patience, and since I figured there was never a lack of thieves in the city, we took care of them quickly. Needless to say, certain regions of the city were going to smell the next day if nobody took care of things.

The building that this man inhabited felt unwelcoming, even from the outside. It almost felt like walking through a semi-physical wall when we stepped onto the property. Kell was leading us around the back, but he cautioned us to keep quiet and avoid the stepping stones. Apparently, a lot of the traps were sound-activated, which had me on edge quite horribly. The garden was worse, as there was apparently a booby-trap in every plot and stepstone. The door was just on the other side, so as Kell sprinted across the retaining wall around the garden, Bethany and I did our best to avoid everything. It helped that I could spot the physical traps, and she could sense the magical ones.

As soon as we'd stepped inside, the door slammed shut. I about died at that point, but we stood still for quite a while, and nothing seemed to be activated, so we pressed on.

We had to pass through the main hall in order to find the staircase tucked away behind a corner. There were a lot of statues and a lot of portraits, making a lot of eyes that seemed to follow us everywhere. I was not comfortable.

The stairs were better. None of us spotted any traps whatsoever, so we made our way up them rather quickly. The hall on the other end, however, was a completely different matter. I spotted trapdoors at regular intervals at ankle-height, on both walls, all the way down the corridor. Clearly, the man not being home, his security was on. Unfortunately, I couldn't spot any triggers. Neither could Bethany. Kell studied the hall for a moment before just stepping out into it and tiptoeing his way across. I assumed the trapdoors shot straight out, so stepping between the potential projectile pathways was not too hard. The office door was locked, predictably enough, but Kell picked it rather quickly, gently easing it open.

It was not open a crack before a siren started wailing. Kell swore loudly and dodged into the room. A huge fireball exploded down the hall, so Beth and I stepped into the room, too. Inside were four giant ravens, screeching bloody murder, flying around dangerously, and scratching at our faces. Thank the Maker Kell found what he was looking for quickly, because much longer, and I don't think I'd have had much hair left. He dodged for the door shouting for us to follow him, then ran further down the hallway, ignoring the trapdoors.

The trapdoors opened, spilling out all manner of insects. Bethany screamed and froze, but I grabbed her hand and dragged her, just far enough for her to start running on her own. The end of the hallway branched both ways, but there was a window at one end, which is exactly where Kell led us. The moment I was outside the mansion, I no longer heard the alarm, but I was being rained on by glass and the ravens were still chasing us. Bethany managed to shoot off a large green... something, which disorientated the ravens enough for us to leave, running for shelter in Darktown.


	7. Chapter 7

"A free mage? In THIS city?" Varric snorted. "Prove it."

Kell dropped a stacked of slightly singed papers on the table. "Here's your proof, dwarf, 23 pages of it."

Varric shook his head. "You think I'm gonna read it when there's three individuals here able to describe its contents to me?" he clicked his tongue, "You must have the wrong dwarf."

We'd decided to find Varric first thing in the morning. None of us had slept very well, unfortunately, but the morning had come soon enough, and we'd made our way to the Hanged Man soon after dawn. Apparently, that was well before the dwarf awoke, so Kell had reluctantly paid for a couple rounds. I remembered the stuff I'd drank the day before, and them stuff Kell had bought was far better - less watered down and... it just tasted thicker.

Varric had eventually gotten up, and we'd surrounded him before he had the chance to do anything else. Despite still being a little groggy, he was surprisingly alert. Or... his tongue was, at least. He'd been wisecracking the whole time, but I suspected that was second nature to him.

Kell finished summarizing the content of the papers and tossed another to Varric, who did not look the least bit cheered by the news. "Here. I'd read this one for you, too, but I'm afraid my Tevinter is a little rusty."

Varric's eyebrows raised. "Tevinter, huh? Interesting." He re-broke the seal on the letter, and scanned it for a few silent minutes, his mouth forming alien words. By the end, he looked a little bemused.

"At least you got this." He stood up and dropped the paper on the table. "If the men at the Guard have a translator who can read this, we're guaranteed their help."

"Well?" Bethany asked, "What did it say?" Varric shook his head. "I'll give you more details on the road."

"What are we waiting for, then?" Kell took a few steps toward the door, "Let's get going".

"Hold it, gloomy! I still have to get pants on. Give me a few." Kell sighed dramatically as Varric wandered into a back room. When he returned, his robe was gone, and he was wearing his normal attire, and carrying his crossbow on his back. "NOW we go."

The guardroom was abnormally busy that day. Bethany and Kell made for the Captain's room, but I found myself distracted. "Carver?"

He turned. "Oh. Hello. Fancy meeting you here."

I nearly hit him. "Fancy meeting you here?! You ran off in the middle of a strange city without warning anyone! We had no idea where you went? Do you have any idea how long Bethany and I searched for you yesterday?!"

He shrugged. "I went looking for a job. I told you that much."

"Yes, you said that," I conceded, "But it's been nearly three full days since and we never saw you once!"

"I've been busy. Since I was accepted, I haven't had any personal time. I've been training."

"ALL the time?" I was dubious. I'd been part of the guard back home, briefly. Not even the most unreasonable commanders refused to give the men a single break.

"All right, not ALL the time, but they don't provide much food here, all right? I get hungry. You know that." He looked a little repentant, so I let up a little.

"That's still not an excuse to worry us." I clapped his shoulder. "But I'm glad to hear you're alright." He smiled, and I promised to calm Bethany down before letting her talk to him.

We stepped into the captain's room to a shouting match. As far as I could gather from a few words here and there, the captain and Varric had a mutual respect, possibly friends, but the captain was not taking Varric word on this because it was dangerous, or... something.

"NO! It may actually be Tevinter correspondence, but I need an official translator look this over before I just hand a troop of my men to you. I have people to report to, too."

Carver stepped forward. "Ser? I don't mean to be presumptious, but doesn't the Viscount's chief adviser have some knowledge of Tevinter?" The captain regarded Carver somewhat coldly. "And how would you know this? You haven't been in the city more than a week."

Carver bowed slightly to relieve the man's anger by playing to his pride. It was a habit he'd learned years ago. "A few of the men were talking."

The captain frowned. "Hm. Well, I charge you with finding this man and either proving or disproving this rumor. Do you understand?"

Carver nodded. "Yes, ser. Right away." He left the room and the captain returned to glaring at Varric. "We shall find out soon if you're right this time, friend." His words and Varric's returning glare spoke of a story that I wish I knew.

Carver soon returned with a copper-haired man. "Good!" The captain called, "Can you read this?"

The man raised an eyebrow. "I am your superior, Gregor. You forget your position again." He took the paper and skimmed it over. "Yes, I can read this."

"It is a message from the accused to a correspondent regarding a business transaction. The transaction is the transfer of goods - 14 slaves, the profits of the man's recent lyrium expedition, and an unnamed spell with instructions, in exchange for not revealing this man's 'secret'." He lowered the paper. "It would seem that your anonymous tip was correct, captain. I hardly think you will need the Viscount's permission to make a move now. In fact, I would consider it poor judgement to do nothing. I will assume you will either arrest him or... dispose of him, and I expect a report handed to Madam Trevan by midday tomorrow." He handed the paper to the captain and headed for the door, "And with that, I take my leave."

The door closed and we waiting for the footsteps to vanish before anyone spoke. Varric and the captain spoke at the same time. "I hate that man."


	8. Chapter 8

We were immediately handed a full force. Word had spread quickly, and before we'd even reached the street his house was on, we were joined by another party; the city's Knight-Commander with nearly a dozen Templars. I almost expected the house to be deserted when we reached it, but as we rounded the corner, we ran into walking corpses.

The Knight-Commander's mouth circled into a sneer. "Men. Clear the path!" Some of the Templars quickly moved ahead and engaged the creatures, letting the rest of our party travel through unheeded. The courtyard ahead was just as bad, and I was assured that he was not running. The black and green cloud surrounding the house did not suggest escape. It looked like war.

The statues outside the house came to life, and Varric stopped. "Keep going, guys! Get inside! I can handle these marble nugbites"

The front door was unlocked, but did not open easily. Inside, there were pools of green swirling on the floor. Occasionally, some manner of monster would erupt from the tiles, and start wandering the room. There were already several dozen in the main hall. Bethany stepped ahead of me with the Maker's own anger in her eyes. Most of them found themselves incinerated in the first blast, and they were all piles of ash by the third.

We split up in three group at that point. Two groups went left and right to search the main floor. The Knight-Commander, several of the guard, and I went up the main stairs. Fire shot from the walls and floor at regular intervals, but the guardmen took the brunt of the blasts, and it did little to their metal armor. Every few rooms, we found a demon. A desire demon took out one of our men, another fell to a rage demon, and a third was taken Maker-knows-where by a sloth demon. One of the men with us was talkative, and he'd apparently been studying the different types of demon for a long time.

We cleared the upstairs and found nothing. We headed downstairs soon after, and found the other two groups on the main stairs. I opted to go outside to help then men fighting the corpses out, but they were searching the grounds when I stepped out.

Varric lowered his bow. "What? Ya take him out already?" I shook my head and he grimaced. "Then you haven't found him yet."

He gestured for me to go inside and followed me through the front doors. As soon as he stepped inside, it was as if he became another man. He hunched a little further, squinted, and started walking heavily. The Knight-Commander asked him loudly what he was doing, but the captain answered for him.

"There are only two possibilities at this point" he said. "Either he set this all up and has been maintaining a magical influence remotely by use of some imbibed object in this house, or he's hiding." He nodded towards Varric, who was tapping random stones on the floor with his foot. "The dwarf is rather good at spotting hidden entrances."

As if spurred by his words, there was a sudden click and the floor started shaking. A few men cried out as it suddenly gave way, collapsing into a stairway headed downwards. I hit the ground hard, but nothing broke. Others were not as lucky. Varric strode past the men and women getting to their feet. "I knew it, the bastard."

The doorway at the bottom opened up into a large room under the courtyard in front of the house. This room branched off into several tunnels and the men began to split up again. Kell called out for them to halt, though. There was some sort of sculpture of a creature in the center of the room, nearly flat with the floor. One of its hands was curled, as if inviting for something to be placed inside. Varric nodded in approval as Kell placed a blood-red crystal within the claw. Light shot out the back of the creature and reflected off a panel in the ceiling, hitting a section of the wall, which seemed to melt away, revealing another path downwards.

There was an unspoken agreement that there was no need to check all the tunnels at this point. I set a mental note to ask either Kell or Varric what that was when this was all done. The tunnel opened out into a cavern, glowing an eerie blue.

"WHO DARES." A voice boomed, reverberating off the walls of the cavern. It was not a question. There appeared to be an altar cut into the wall on the far side of the room. Pathways on the floor were running with blood, and at least two newly dead bodies lay next to the the altar. The creeping blue light rushed towards the statue on top of the altar - some kind of modified bull or troll, I guessed. It was large and grotesque, and held attributes of both creatures.

"BOW." The voice again intoned. A few men dropped to their knees. They looked in pain, like they were trying to physically fight something, but they were not moving aside from shaking. A thick grey smoke was beginning to gather in front of the altar.

Bethany stepped forward, as if in a trance. I attempted to grab at her, but found my feet somehow bound to the floor. I was unable to take a step. Horrified, I watched as she stepped into the smoke, it absolutely enveloping her. A horrible growl grew from seemingly everywhere, getting louder and louder until it was a roar.

The... thing... that stepped out of the smoke... was not my sister. Not anymore. I do not wish to describe it too clearly, but I will say the eyes... they were hers. The eyes looked exactly like my sisters, only greyed and milky. I tried to scream her name, but found myself unable to make a sound.

"YOU WILL ALL DIE."


	9. Chapter 9

The arm mutated into some kind of scythe. With a single swipe, three men were decapitated, and two found themselves bleeding horribly, still unable to move. As it prepared for another strike, the Knight-Commander managed to take a step. Shouting some words pushed the smoke around her away, she readied a counter-strike. The smoke must have been what was paralyzing us, because as it cleared any Templar, they shouted the same words, and it pushed away further. Soon, most of us were able to move.

By the time I joined the foray, the creature had more than doubled in size, and the two dead souls by the altar had joined its side and were pelting magical projectiles across the room. Men and women were dying left and right, and it did not seem to be taking any damage.

Two guards, a Templar and I took down one of the corpse magicians. Instead of the body falling to the floor, it exploded into a shower of ash. The Templar started to attack the main creature. A stray attack killed one of my companions as we dodged to the other side of the room to take out the other protector. It didn't last long, as it already had a small group of people attacking it.

By this time, the creature had mutated even farther. Tendrils of... something were whipping around the room, and a green mist was creeping across the floor. It growled something and the cavern started shaking. A movement caught the corner of my eye, and as I turned, I saw one of the Templar corpses turn over. I expected it to stand up and start attacking us, but it continued to tumble towards the center of the room, where it was absorbed by the creature's leg. The thing grew in size with every absorbed body, nearly taking up the cavern. I did not know how many were still alive. I was nearly trapped against the cavern wall, slicing away at tendrils and waving limbs and things I did not see clearly.

Then there was an explosion on the other side of the room and the thing roared in pain. Varric shouted triumphantly, and I found myself thrown into the wall as the creature abruptly turned. Another explosion, and parts of the skin burst into flames. The smell that filled the room ranked, but I could not cover my nose. The creature's roar grew in pitch until it was nearly a wail. Another explosion and it thrashed, a stray tendril hitting me square in the stomach. I fell to the floor and curled into a ball. Everything was ringing and I couldn't think. I stayed that way until the world faded into a gentle murmur.

The numbness slowly faded, and was replaced by pain. I was bleeding quite badly in a lot of places. I had to remove my chestpiece before I found myself able to stand. Blinking furiously restored my vision, and the first thing I saw was Varric hoisting his crossbow over by the altar. Or... the remains of the altar. It was nothing but a pile of rubble and stone now. Looking around the room, I saw puddles of flaming black goo, broken stone, men getting to their feet... everything I expected to see but the thing we'd been fighting. Had it disappeared? What about Bethany?

I frantically scanned the people getting to their feet and saw neither of my siblings. I figured I might have overlooking Carver, as he was wearing nearly the same thing as the guards, but I should have seen Bethany. I called out her name, and a few men shook their heads.

The Knight-Commander, standing in nearly the middle of the room spoke to me without looking. "The apostate?" I nearly said something that would have likely landed me in the stocks, but I held my tongue. She turned around and regarded me. "She's dead. Taken by the demon, same as all the other men and women who are missing."

One of the guard women gestured towards the door. "Save for your brother and friend, that is. They left near the end of the battle. Your brother did not look good."

I attempted to run to the stairs, stumbling over rubble a few times. In the large room under the courtyard, I found Kell tending to Carver. Carver was seated against the wall and was missing an arm. As soon as he saw me, he raised his free hand. "I'm all right. I'm fine. Bethany-?"

I slowed to a standing and swallowed the horrible lump in my throat. I could not manage more than shaking my head. Then the tears came. I wanted to cry my soul out, but I found myself somewhat emotionless. Irritatingly so.

The rest of the party came into the chamber slowly. The guard left, taking Carver with them. The Templars hung around for a few moments before filtering out as well, leaving a few stragglers, Kell, and myself. Even Varric had left, and the remaining people were mourning the dead and performing simple rituals. I figured this as good a time as any to ask Kell about what he'd done with the crystal to find the door.

"Well," he said, "I... mentioned that I tend to do some assassinations?" I nodded and he continued, "Well, the payment is often somewhat unorthodox. Usually doesn't come in the form of coin." He gestured towards the statue holding the gem. "That was one of my rewards a few months ago. I'd been told it was a 'blood gem' used in 'foreign magic'." He shrugged. "It just added up."


	10. Chapter 10

The Viscount had felt the immediate effects. As soon as the monster had died, it was 'as if a cloud had been lifted from the entire building'. He described it as that his 'eyes had been opened' and he 'suddenly saw through the lies'.

He gave rewards to the people involved. As luck would have it, my rewards was just enough to buy myself a place in Hightown; specifically, the house Gamlen had lost in gamblings. It had fallen into derelict, but I took up a job as a hired blade for the city, not on the records. Kell taught me well, and I learned quite a few tricks to hide in shadows and take down my targets without being seen. The Viscount knew full well what I was doing, as I reported directly to his right-hand man, but most people who knew looked the other way. The city needed a way to solve some problems that diplomacy couldn't, and this seemed the best option.

Within a few months, our group of three, Varric, Kell and I, grew into a ragtag band spanning all of Kirkwall. Jobs were done nearly instantly, and the city restored to peace. Even the Qunari turned out to be less of a problem than expected. They left soon after I bought my house, and you could feel the city take a breath of relief. I paid off the house the rest of the way and fixed it up quite well, complete with hidden escapes to other parts of the city. Carver and I held a memorial for Bethany, and we set a grave in our backyard. I hoped that whatever life came afterwards, she was getting the best of it.

Varric introduced me to his brother, who was recruiting for a mining project of some kind, and I had several more adventures. Life was good. The move to Kirkwall had been unexpected and forced by circumstance, but the Maker seemed to be smiling.


End file.
